Page 47 of Alessio

He wanted from afar.

“Do you?” she asked.

“I do.”

Ginevra swallowed audibly, her lips pressing together before she said, “Then, do that, Corrado.”

He didn’t need further permission. The second those words slipped out of her sweet mouth, he closed that inch of space between them. Catching her lips with his own, he reveled in the softness of her mouth against his own. It’d been far too long since he had a taste of this woman, and he soaked in every single second.

The way her lips worked against his, slow but sure. How her tongue struck out first to tease at the seam of his lips, asking for more. The little gasp she gave when he nipped at her with his teeth, and how her tongue slashed with his, not giving him even an inch of control in this battle between them.

He loved it all.

Wanted it all.

Corrado stroked the side of Ginevra’s cheek with the pad of his thumb when he pulled away, although part of him wanted to just stay right there, with her caught up in him and those thoughts of Alessio running through her head.

Because yeah, he knew that’s what was happening.

And he was fine with that.

“My mother called this morning,” he said, holding her gaze strong, “she wants to have lunch with you tomorrow.”

Ginevra’s gaze widened. “Why?”

“Because she found out you were still in the city with me, that Alessio is also here, I imagine she has questions, and she knows better than to ask me. Oh, and because she thought you made quite an impression on her, which means she likes you. Surprise, someone else that thinks you’re amazing.”

“Corrado. Stop it.”

“But it’s not a lie.”

And it wasn’t.

“We Guzzi men try to give our mother what she wants,” he added, “or we have to deal with our father. You’re safe to leave the penthouse, even if you haven’t asked to go further than a shop for clothes. No one knows you’re here, so if you want to do lunch tomorrow—it’s not negotiable, Cara decided, so—then you can do that. Chris promised Ma he would come to pick you up, so you wouldn’t be late because they don’t trust me to let you out of here, apparently.”

Ginevra grinned slyly. “Oh?”

“Seems so.”

He let her go, and Ginevra stood up straight. A happiness lingered in her smile, but he found something else dimming her gaze.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I just … have you heard anything about back home, or my sisters?”

He didn’t tell her about the calls and messages he’d made because Corrado didn’t want to get Ginevra’s hopes up only to watch them crash and burn when he got no response from Andino. She had enough to deal with, and that didn’t need to be something else on her plate.

“No,” he said.

“Will you try?”

Corrado sighed.

Ginevra frowned. “Please? I haven’t tried to leave, or use the phones or your laptop to contact anyone. I’ve followed all the rules, haven’t I?”

Jesus.

Why did she think he would say no?